Back then

I remember shopping at a store on Chestnut Street called Pappagallos. They sold shoes that were the craze. We all wore them–the college girls. The store was in a townhouse. Or, maybe it just looked like someone's home. Painted furniture and colorful displays of huge Mexican paper flowers in the windows. A fireplace on each floor. I remember the flats in fine glove leather with soles so thin you could feel the stones in the old cement pavements as you strolled around town looking so fine. They served coffee while you tried on every pair. My friend we'll call her Mindy had a rose tattoo–they too were popular then–on her ankle which added something wild to the refined effect of those shoes.

I digress a bit but truly I'm still on topic–fashion. We're getting to the tee part. Back then I was a college student studying Fashion Design and influenced by my time. Clothes were still made here in the US and not too many of them stretched. We didn't have lycra then and velcro wasn't invented yet. Gees, pantyhose was a new thing. So I guess that in today's terms I was working in the dark ages. Diane Von Furstenberg hadn't done the wrap–dress, that is. But I had my icons–the heroes whose shoes I tried to fill. Coco Chanel, Nina Ricci and Balenciaga, Norrell, Claire McCardle, Anne Klein, Charles James, Yves St. Laurent. Creating clothing drama was what I was thinking about while boys were fighting in Viet Nam. It was the dawn of the tee shirt as fashion. Pushed to the fore by the rock concert, a tee shirt chronicled every event of my era and continues to do so. I didn't see it then. They weren't glamorous. I certainly didn't want to wear someone else's name on my chest or a slogan that sold an idea I wasn't sure of. So I created something else to wear finding inspiration and style in other places. I've included a few photos of my college design work. I was good enough to win awards and recognition for my fashion sense. I didn't see the tee shirt 'til now. Basic and dependable–it was not a part of what I thought of as fashion. Too humble to be honored.